JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Mental health problems during pregnancy and postpartum are common and associated with negative short- and long-term impacts on pregnant individuals, obstetric outcomes, and child socioemotional development. Socio-environmental factors are important predictors of perinatal mental health, but effects of the environment on mental health are heterogeneous. The differential susceptibility theory and the environmental sensitivity framework suggest that individuals differ in their degree of sensitivity to positive and negative environment. While there is strong evidence for these models in childhood, few studies examined them in adults, and they were not examined in pregnancy.

Objective:

The primary objective of the Experiences of Pregnancy study is to explore whether childhood and current environments are associated with mental health and well-being in pregnancy, and whether these effects depend on individual sensitivity phenotypes (personality). The present study also aimed to gather important psychosocial and health data for potential secondary data analyses and integrative data analyses.

Methods:

512 to 1000 participants will be recruited via social media ads linking to the study website, followed by an eligibility call on Zoom. Participants must be 18+ years of age, currently residing in the United States, and currently planning to keep the pregnancy. Participants will be in their first trimester of pregnancy and will be followed at each trimester and once postpartum. Data will be obtained through self-reported questionnaires assessing demographic factors, pregnancy-related factors, delivery, labor, and birth outcomes, early infant feeding, individual personality factors, childhood and current environments, mental health and well-being, attachment, and infant temperament. A series of measures were taken to safeguard the study from web robots and fraudulent participants, as well as to reduce legal and social risks for participants following Dobbs v. Jackson.

Results:

The study received ethics approval in April 2023. Recruitment will occur over Spring-Summer 2023 with 3 follow-ups over 10 months.

Conclusions:

The Experiences of Pregnancy study will allow extending theories of environmental sensitivity mainly applied in children to the perinatal period. This will help better understand individual sensitivity factors associated with risk, resilience, plasticity, and receptivity to negative and positive environmental influences during pregnancy. In turn, this can help determine the best individualized interventions and treatments as well as inform targeted prevention and psychoeducation initiatives.